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What You Need To Know About February's Blockbuster Jobs Report

Rafael Nash |Sunday, March 11, 2018

What You Need To Know About February's Blockbuster Jobs Report

USA nonfarm payroll employment rose in February by 313,000 jobs, the largest monthly gain in more than 18 months, according to the latest figures from the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS).

But the strong growth, spurred by hiring in retail after layoffs past year and gains in manufacturing and construction, did not boost wages.

An influx of new job seekers in February kept the unemployment rate unchanged at a low 4.1 percent.

But January's figure was revised one-tenth of a point lower to 2.8 percent.

February's hiring surge points to a USA job market that remains robust, and might even be strengthening. Economists appeared split over what caused the higher-than-projected surge of jobs.

President Trump's policies and tax cuts are getting Americans back to work, creating growth, and restoring confidence in the USA economy.

"This is a result of fiscal stimulus - in other words: a $1.3 billion tax cut", he said. "Even if the dollars aren't in the pockets of companies yet, they're making plans".

Todays employment report could scarcely have been better,  said ABC Chief Economist Anirban Basu. "If demand for products hasn't gone up, there's not more work for these companies to be doing".

American businesses are on a hiring spree. And consumers are more confident than they have been since 2000. "They like the outlook for growth and how supportive federal policy will be for it". For slower home price growth, more home construction is needed. Retail payrolls jumped by 50,300, the largest increase since February 2016.

So, for the first two months of the year the USA economy has added 552,000 jobs, a 20.3 percent increase from the first two months of 2017.

The number of adults not in the labor force fell by a whopping 653,000 people, as the participation rate - the proportion of adults who either have a job or are looking for one - rose a healthy 0.3 percent to 63 percent.

"It's getting more competitive in this market", Peters said.

Labor Secretary Alec Acosta doubled down on the stance Trump's tax moves unleashed growth in a statement Friday. Wages rose 2.6% from a year earlier in February.

On top of the exceptionally strong February, the job gains in December and January were revised up by a combined 54,000, bringing average monthly job creation to a strong 242,000 a month for the latest three months.

According to the Department of Labor, unemployment rates remained at 4.1-percent for the fifth straight month, which is the lowest level in 17 years. In the first two months of 2018, the economy has added an average 276,000 jobs a month, a big step up from 182,000 on average in 2017. Eighteen states lifted their minimum wages at the start of the year, including Ohio, Florida, Washington and Maine.

The number of people marginally attached to the workforce (that is, discouraged workers now not looking for work because they believe no jobs are available for them) has fallen by almost 150,000 from this same point a year ago, and the number of employed black Americans is hitting record highs.

Top officials are hoping the move of workers off the sidelines and into jobs will mean more output and income for the US without wage and inflation pressures becoming so intense that central bank decides it must to hit the brakes on economic growth.